Don't know why this movie tanked

Rating: 8/10 (3 August 2005)

I saw "The Island" last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. When I first heard about it I was torn: I am not a Michael Bay fan but I adore Ewan McGregor and think Scarlet J. is a fine actor as well. When I realized Jerry Bruckheimer wasn't involved I thought perhaps this flick has half a chance.
I thought it was a great summer popcorn movie. It definitely has some deeper levels than just a bunch of action. Yes there are certain themes that have been visited in other movies but at this point if you get remotely close to the topic of the future, cloning, utopia, you are going to overlap with other stories.
There is a pretty good plot and set-up before you get to the big action sequences. It was nice that it wasn't run, fight, explode the whole movie. They did a good job of explaining most of the implausible things and I could overlook some of the plot holes, which weren't too bad.
My only criticism is the insane amount of product placement. It was "Wayne's World" caliber placement. I read on a message board that perhaps it was ironic that they are products and they are exposed to all these products and marketing. Maybe. But it was annoying and distracting.
The acting was great, the effects were good. This movie deserves to make more money than it has. And Ewan McGregor is gorgeous. The scenes with two of him were very delightful for me. : )